Telfer expands on his apology

LOS ANGELES -- USC tight end Randall Telfer confirmed this week that he apologized to Trojans coach Lane Kiffin for saying the team was underprepared to play Stanford last weekend.

USC lost to the Cardinal, 21-14, for the fourth straight time on Saturday at Stanford Stadium. Following the game, Telfer said the Trojans probably "tried to take (Stanford) lightly."

“All around, we probably weren't prepared as we should've been for this team,” Telfer said then. “They're a really good team."

In a Sunday evening conference call, Kiffin revealed that Telfer had apologized to him that morning for his comments and indicated that he meant to criticize himself -- not his coaches or teammates.

Telfer backed up that statement Tuesday.

"It was more of a personal thing," he said. "I wasn't pointing fingers, wasn't blaming anyone.

"The coaches did what they could."

Telfer, a third-year player, caught four passes for 20 yards and was as big a part of the offense as he normally is. But he said he wasn't pleased with his performance as a blocker, in protecting quarterback Matt Barkley and the USC running backs.

"I didn't do enough film study," Telfer said. "I didn't do enough of watching the D-linemen and understanding how they play."

USC didn’t score a point after the second quarter in what Kiffin called the worst offensive performance he'd seen in nine years at the school. Telfer wasn't pleased either.

"Ultimately, I was just disappointed in the offense as a whole," Telfer said Tuesday. "We didn't play as well as we should have. We definitely let them hit us in the mouth before we did, before we got a chance to.